Have you ever had a Mormon question you about your faith? I know I have! Sometimes it can be rough knowing what to say, but it doesn't have to be that way. Here's a recent paper I submitted that describes, and refutes the Mormon cultist faith. Hopefully this is of help...
Brief History of Mormonism
Brief History of Mormonism
The
religion of Mormonism supposedly began many centuries ago when two great
nations migrated to the Americas one of which was wicked and the other religious.
According to their doctrine, Jesus Christ came over later after his
resurrection to preach the gospel to these people. Four hundred years after
Christ, a prophet Nephtite wrote down their history on gold plates and buried
them, which Joseph Smith later discovered and translated with a seer stone.
During this time he never showed them publicly. After they were translated they
were transported to heaven by angels. Mormons claim that archaeology has proven
the book of Mormon to be true. Yet, none of the 3,200 cities named in the book
of Mormon. The Mormons, also known as the Latter Day Saints, claim that they
are the restoration of true Christianity. They also believe in the divine
prophetic word of prophets (such as LDS Presidents, etc) and a “burning in the
bosom” feeling or experience.
Disproving the Mormon Doctrine of Salvation.
Mormons
believe that they are saved through faith and obedience to ordinances of the
Mormon Church, and that one cannot have assurance of salvation. The belief is
that according to Ephesians 2:8-9, we have been saved by grace not as a result
of works, so that no one may boast. For a college class I was asked to
interview two Mormons. In that interview I noticed they believed that the
assurance rested in their “burning in the bosom” and not on scripture. My
argument was that a burning in the bosom, or as we call it, a feeling is a
possible outflow of that assurance but is not the means to an end. One argument
I used in that interview was a presentation of 1 John 5:13, that says, if a
person believes in Jesus Christ they can know that they had eternal life
without a doubt. I also made the case that you cannot just pull a Scripture,
such as this one, out of context and forget about the rest of the Bible – I
reminded them that if you want to get to heaven, you must first repent, and
then walk in all the light God has given us living according to commandments
and such. Most Mormons do not know that they have salvation until judgment.
Disproving the Mormon Doctrine of
God.
Mormons
believe that “God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man”. The
foundational belief for this is a belief that God has a physical body. However,
John 4:24, Luke 24:37-39, and Matthew 16:15-17 refute this by saying that God
is a Spirit. They used to believe that Adam created both God and man, but they
obviously have changed in doctrine since then which in turn proves their
inconsistency. Along with their doctrine of God, they believe that human beings
will exist eternally after physical death in one of the three places –heaven on
earth, the heaven of the “heavens”, and hell. Part of this belief is that God
evolved from mortal man. Lorenzo Snow, a Mormon leader, when speaking of John
3:16, stated, “As man now is, God once was. As God is now, man may become.” The
Scripture verses I would use to refute this are the following: Psalm 90:2 – which
says that God is everlasting and forever; Mal 3:6 – says that God doesn't change; Numbers 23:19 – says that God is not a man; In fact, even the book of
Mormon in Mormon 9:10 refutes this idea.
Not
only do the Mormons believe that God evolved from man, and that as mortal man
we can become like God, but they also believe in polytheism. Joseph Smith said,
“In the beginning, the head of the gods called a council of the gods; and they
came together and concocted a plan to create the world and the people in it.”
(King Follet Discourse)[1]
Scripture refutes this. Isaiah 44:6 says that the LORD is the first and the
last and that there is no other God but him. Then in 44:8 He repeats Himself
and says: “Is there anyone beside me? Surely no!” In Isaiah 45:18 and 22 He
says yet again “I am the LORD who created the heaven and earth and there is
none beside me”. Lastly, Isaiah 43:10 which contradicts the belief in
polytheism, says, ”I am the only God, before me there was no other and after me
there will be no other.” Therefore, it is clear that their key statement that
they often use to support their belief in polytheism can be easily disproven
with these scriptures.
Other Ways to Disprove Mormonism
One
argument that can be used in disproving Mormonism, is to disprove the
extermination of the Nephites. The footnotes in the Book of Mormon suggest that
the extermination of the Nephites happened between A.D. 400 and 421. Yet it
left no archeological evidence. In contrast, there was a much smaller battle
that took place centuries earlier in 1st century A.D. in Palestine
that shows what we would expect to find if this battle from the book of Mormon
had really occurred. Josephus, a historian, describes a rock in the desert
named Masada, where 900 people were besieged by the Romans, all of whom
eventually died. Archaeologists identified and excavated it in the 1960’s. What
they found was very clear evidence such as coins and houses, proving that these
events actually took place there. No civilization can be wiped out in such a
way that (even some of) a remnant is no longer left. In Ether 15 in the Book of
Mormon, a huge war is described during which millions are massacred. Where is
the evidence of this catastrophe? We know that the Hill, Komora was where the
last major events in the book of Mormon took place. In Mormon 8:2 we read, “And
now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah,
behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by
the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed. It goes on and makes an account
of about how many died. William Wilson an LDS Anthropologist from Northern Arizona
University, stated that, “Each time a new massacre would happen, the book of
Mormon records that tens of thousands died. When you add them all up it’s over
250,000 that were left dead”[2].
Yet, when Wilson did excavations in Palmyra, NY he found nothing. If even
50,000 died, archaeologists assumed that they would have found remains of bones
in mass burial sites, metal from spears, chariots, etc. In Jerusalem anytime
another object is found they begin excavating that site to find more evidence.
So why does the Mormon Church not do this in the hill Cumorah in Palmyra, NY.
There
was a man named Thomas Ferguson who endeavored to prove that the book of Mormon
was true by going to South America and finding archaeological evidence proving
its validity. At that time he was a devout Mormon. “He worked at the
anthropology department at Brigham Young University.”[3] “After
spending millions of dollars in excavations and research he couldn’t find
anything.”[4] He
went in a hopeful Mormon, but eventually left the faith and is now excommunicated
from the church.
My Humble Conclusion
Joseph
Smith said, “I told the brethren that the book of Mormon was the most correct
of any on earth, and the keystone of our religion and that man would get nearer
to God by abiding in its precepts than by any other book.”[5] My
conclusion is, if the book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, then we
have many other books full of lies. If the people that it talks about did not
exist historically, and there is no other evidence of any of the events, then,
as the evidence proves, there was no visit of Jesus Christ to the Americas. Therefore,
“it then couldn’t be another testament of Jesus Christ”.[6]
Gordon
B. Hickley the late LDS Prophet and President said,
“As
a church we have critics many of them. They say we do not believe in the
traditional Christ of
Christianity. There is some substance to what they say. Our faith, our knowledge, is not based on ancient
tradition… Our faith, our knowledge comes of the witness of a prophet in this dispensation…” (April 2002
General Conference)[7]
This
man is basically saying that he does not believe in the Christian Christ, but in
the Christ that Joseph Smith taught. I would recommend that you at least quote
this to your Mormon friend, and if he or she gets mad then you say, “This is
what your prophet said”. How can they argue against their own prophet? Furthermore,
William Wilson a former LDS member and follower, who is now an anthropologist
at the Northern Arizona University stated (after reviewing much evidence),
“Mormons do not believe in the same Christ”.[8] Also, Galatians 1:9-12 says,
As
we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you
than that ye have received, let
him be accursed. Or do I now persuade men, or God? For do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased
men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me is not after man. For I neither
received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ.”
I thank God that we have the TRUE story, the
one that isn’t flawed. We believe in something that brings and will bring true
hope. We need to open our doors to Mormons when they come knocking and expose
this cult for what it truly is. This book has been disproven by secular and
religious scholars alike. From the historical, archaeological factual, and
biblical evidence, I and many other scholars would agree that the Book of
Mormon is only 19th Century Religious fiction. Wouldn’t you agree?
Suggestions when Witnessing to a Mormon
In
closing I would like to give some brief pointers in sharing one’s faith with
Mormons, along with the arguments and scriptures that have already shared. When
you plan to meet, find a quiet place such as the corner of a coffee shop to
meet – it is more conducive to deeper thinking. Also, understand that they will
be meeting with you in a suit and tie so dressing in a dressy or casual manner
would be appropriate - I wouldn’t recommend jeans and a tee shirt. The last
time I offered some Mormons a drink, forgetting that there are some drinks they
would not drink, such as those that contain caffeine – so you could instead
offer water. Also, when you interact, always remember that you may be arguing
for your faith (or theirs), you may be disagreeing with them, you may even get
a little red in the face at some of the outlandish things they say – but never
forget to love them like Christ! They are people just like you who are in
search of truth, whether they outwardly say or show that or not.
Furthermore,
according to Maxwell, it’s a good thing to, “avoid telling Mormons what they
believe”. Instead, ask them what their position is on a certain issue. Second,
always define your terms. Maxwell said you need to understand that, “Mormonism
has accepted Christian terminology while substituting its truth for private
definitions”.[9]
This is huge! So make sure you know what you’re agreeing to before you agree
that both Christianity and Mormonism agree (or differ) theologically on a
subject. Know their terms and your own. Finally, use some of the information
provided in this essay to refute or bring into question their beliefs.
In
closing, I wish the best to you in your endeavors with Mormons! Keep trying,
the truth always prevails in the end.
Works Cited
Discourses, the power of the Holy Ghost."
 Journal of, and vol. 3 p. 3 (1856). "False Prophecies/Quotes."
Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
.
Faith, their "Articles of, " their
"Creeds, ", and their. "Orson Pratt, "Authenticity
of the Book of Mormon"." BOAP: The Book of Abraham Project.
N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
.
"Joseph Smith's King Follet Sermon." Utah
Lighthouse Ministry. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.
Stanley, Charles. "NO Historical Evidence to Support
the Book of Mormon." Introduction to Jesus Christ. N.p., n.d. Web.
9 Apr. 2013. .
"The Book of Mormon vs The Bible, Part 3 of an indepth
study of Latter Day Saints Archeology - YouTube." YouTube. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013. .
Volume, and Issue ». "Questions to Ask Your Mormon
Friend: Effective Ways to Challenge a Mormon's Arguments without Being
Offensive - LeIsle Jacobson - FARMS Review - Volume 7 - Issue 1." Neal
A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 9
Apr. 2013. .
MLA
formatting by BibMe.org.
[1] Joseph Smith, n.d. (utlm.org)
[2]
The Book of Mormon vs. the Bible, n.d. (youtube.com)
[3] C.
Stanley, n.d. (evangelical.us)
[4]
The Book of Mormon vs. the Bible, n.d. (youtube.com)
[5]
Discourses, 1856 (inplainsite.org)
[6]
The Book of Mormon vs. the Bible, n.d. (youtube.com)
[7]
Discourses, 1856 (inplainsite.org)
[8]
The Book of Mormon vs. the Bible, n.d. (youtube.com)
[9] LeIsle
Jacobson, n.d. (Maxwellinstitute.byu.edu)
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